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Feb 6, 2025 By Jerin Steele 4 min read

WAYNESBURG – Austin Surber toed the free-throw line with 8.2 seconds remaining in regulation with a chance to break a tie game and clinch a playoff berth for Waynesburg Central.

Sure, there were some nerves for the junior guard, but they were outweighed by the confidence he’s gained making time to practice free throws every day.

Surber drained both of them and Waynesburg topped Charleroi, 45-43, on Jan. 28 to clinch a playoff spot in Section 4-3A

“I just focused on making them and getting the win,” Surber said. “We shoot free throws all the time in practice, so I knew I was going to make them.”

Jackson Keranko had one final attempt at the buzzer for Charleroi, but his shot bounced off the rim.

Surber’s two free throws capped off a 14-9 fourth quarter for the Raiders, who are postseason bound after finishing last in the section last year.

Waynesburg (6-1, 7-9) has won six in a row.

“It’s been several years since we’ve been there and these guys have been battling since I took the job last season,” Raiders coach Michael Juliano said. “They’ve gone through some trials and tribulations, but they’ve stuck together and have continued to work hard. They’re continuing to climb. They deserve the credit and to be celebrated for it.”

Prior to Surber’s free throws, Charleroi’s Brock Henderson drained a three-pointer to tie the game with 12 seconds remaining.

Waynesburg quickly got up the floor, Surber drove the lane and was fouled.

The Raiders trailed by 34-31 after Charleroi (2-5, 8-10) closed the third on an 11-0 run, but found their bearings in the fourth.

Surber hit a 3-pointer to cut the Cougars’ lead to 37-36 and Cole Headlee made a layup to put Waynesburg ahead 38-37. Jack Ricciuti added a running layup and Alex Eck put one in off the glass to extend the Raiders’ lead to 42-37.

Amaru Staub banked in a 3-pointer to get Charleroi within two points. Then, Eck went 1 of 2 from the free throw line.

Though the Cougars put up a good fight, they fell just short of getting a road win.

“We just didn’t make key shots that we should’ve made,” Charleroi coach Joe Dunn said. “That’s a good team. Waynesburg’s a really good team.”

Waynesburg led by three at halftime, but started the third quarter on a 9-2 run to build the first double-digit lead of the game, but Charleroi responded.

Brock Henderson hit a layup, which was followed by a pair of 3-pointers by Keranko.

Then Keranko went to the foul line and sank two free throws, which tied the game at 31-31.

Noah Pletcher hit a jumper with 45 seconds remaining in the quarter to give the Cougars the lead and Staub split a pair of free throws, which made it 34-31.

“We knew if we could get some stops on defense, and that’s really where it got away from us in the third quarter, we knew it was a matter of time before we got ours to fall,” Juliano said. “Luckily it happened in just the nick of time.”

Charleroi got out to a 9-2 lead in the first quarter and didn’t allow a field goal for half the frame, but Waynesburg got hot late.

Headlee hit a jumper for Waynesburg’s first bucket, which cut the lead to 9-5. He also hit three free throws in the quarter.

Surber provided a spark late. He scored a layup on a fast break to give the Raiders their first lead and followed with a 3-pointer in the final minute to give Waynesburg a 15-11 lead after one.

He finished with a team-best 14 points.

Keranko led Charleroi with 15 points. Henderson had 11 and Pletcher scored 10. The Cougars still are in control of the fourth and final playoff spot. They were set to play Brownsville Feb. 4, the Falcons being the team that’s behind them in the standings.

“This would have been a good win for us, but we’ll use what we got from the positive part and learn from the negative,” Dunn said.